‘Rehearsals are going very well. We have an incredible cast, who have done it before and know all the nuances of the piece, so it’s great fun to be on stage with them and learn from their experience,’ he explains. ‘Albazar is a fun man – he’s Zaida’s servant, but a little bit in love with her. My role is quite small and, on the surface, not very challenging. However, there are subtle dynamics to the music that are hard to bring alive while also doing the staging.’

‘This production is one my favourites’, says Luis. ‘Patrice and Moshe have created a simple but clever staging – there are no big changes in the lighting or special effects, but the story comes alive very easily. It’s colourful, accessible and entertaining, and I can feel people having fun watching it. It reminds me a bit of Laurent Pelly’s L’elisir d’amore, for which I covered the role of Nemorino.’

Since joining the Programme at the start of the 2013/14 Season, Luis has covered numerous principal roles; last Season, he stepped in at the last minute to perform as Chevalier de la Force on the opening night of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.

‘It was about 8.30pm and I had just finished a Masterclass with Antonio Pappano in the Clore Studio, when I had a call from Company management saying I was needed for the second half of Dialogues des Carmélites. I thought it was a joke at first, but ended up going straight into costume and make-up and, before I knew it, I was on stage!

‘To walk on the main stage and perform a lead role in an institution like the Royal Opera House is a moment you wait for your whole life. Simon Rattle was in the orchestra pit, and 2,400 people were waiting in the auditorium. I didn't have much time to think about it until the few minutes before stepping on stage, which was probably a good thing! Fortunately, I had done the dress rehearsal, and I felt comfortable. It was a great experience.’

Alongside extensive coaching in music, language and stagecraft, covering roles is a key part of the Young Artists Programme.

‘It’s a very specific skill’, says Luis. ‘It requires you to be triple-prepared as you might come in half way through rehearsals, but you still have to deliver a first-class performance. For Young Artists, it's also often a debut role, which is very challenging. But watching other singers, and seeing how they tackle the role, is a very positive thing – not least because often they have the same problems as you!’

‘I’m next performing as Fenton in Falstaff, a role I was originally meant to be covering. It’s the main tenor role in the opera – and will be a debut for me – so it’s going to be a real highlight. It’s a great production that is fun, charming and captures the brilliance of the piece’, he says. ‘I’m most looking forward to working with Ambrogio Maestri. There’s not much interaction between our characters, but it will be a great experience being in rehearsals with him.’

Surprisingly, Luis, who grew up near Lisbon in Portugal, is the first of his family to show a passion for music.

‘Apart from my great grandfather, who used to play the accordion to friends, my family has no musical background. I started singing in school – nothing operatic, but pop music and school shows – and, when I was 11, someone told my father I should have lessons.’

Luis’s teacher introduced him to the world of opera, triggering a love of classical music that led him to enroll at the Lisbon Music Conservatory. Eleven years on from his first singing lessons, he moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, subsequently joining the National Opera Studio.

‘There wasn't a moment when I knew I would pursue a career in opera – it was more of a gradual process – but I have always felt drawn to the acting as much as the singing. As I started to feel comfortable on stage, my confidence grew and things started happening’, he explains. ‘This is now something I love, and I can't see myself doing anything else. I think I’m slowly managing to convert my family to opera. My 15-year-old sister is now a huge fan of Jonas Kaufmann!’

‘Singing in recital gives you a chance to re-invent the best poetry and music in the world by adding your own interpretation and ideas to it,’ said Luis. ‘The work you do on the music and the texts is similar to when you are preparing for an opera on stage, but you are much more exposed in recital and you have less help and support. You are your own director and so it is a big challenge to bring out the full potential of the poetry and music.’

The lunchtime recitals offer Young Artists the chance to learn repertory of their choice with some of the world’s top vocal, language and stagecraft coaches. Earlier this Season, Jette Parker Principal Jihoon Kim, accompanied by former Young Artist Jean-Paul Pruna and six Korean musicians, performed a programme based on Korean art songs, including traditional Korean costumes and instruments.

‘It was very special for me to be able to show my Korean musical background and to introduce traditional Korean music, instruments and costumes to a British audience,’ he said. ‘I have previously given two recitals of European music as a Jette Parker Young Artist, but to have presented a traditional Korean recital in Europe is a dream come true.’

‘Singing in recital provides a more intimate and direct relationship with the audience than performing on the operatic stage. Without the support of an orchestra, costumes and staging, you’re completely reliant on communication of the text to engage the listener,’ he said. ‘Such performances enhance our skills as storytellers and allow us to experiment with a wide range of vocal colours, a flexibility that’s not always practical on the main stage.’

The lunchtime recitals take place in the Crush Room, Linbury Studio Theatre or the Paul Hamlyn Hall. They are free to attend and tickets can be reserved online up to nine days before the concert. However, although advance tickets are often sold out, tickets are available in person on the day.

The Jette Parker Young Artists Programme supports the artistic development of young professional singers, conductors, directors and répétiteurs. The Young Artists are an international group of outstanding professionals at the start of their careers who have undertaken formal training and have already worked with professional companies. They are not students, but contracted, salaried employees of the Royal Opera House, who work here full-time over two years.